Sarah Jane Adventures - Private Life: Sidetracked
by lhigginns67
Summary: When Charley Cassidy discovers an alien corpse, she encounters the mysterious Sarah Jane Smith...
1. Chapter 1

Charley Cassidy didn't believe in aliens. Little green men from up in the sky? No chance. She liked the life she lead. Quiet, uneventful, complete bliss. As long as Charley could pay her own way, she was satisfied. Thirty-eight with no offspring or Mr Perfect. They'd only hinder her trim figure, and likely cause the lovely locks of red hair on her head to fall out.

Last shift of the week almost at an end, then she and Terry could shut up shop.

'Fancy a bit of overtime, Charlotte?'

Charley placed the last of the oranges on their platter, and headed for the till.

'Sure, I could do with the spare dosh,' she smiled.

Terry exchanged the smile and exited into the back room. She proceeded to open it, and began counting.

Ah, the ever familiar way home. Sometimes quiet, sometimes raving mad.

Oh.

She didn't have anything in for tonight. Could just have some soup, maybe. This evening, the way home was quiet. Marvellous. Unless, that nosy git from number twenty-six unleashed his little terrors. Charley continued along for another while and-

An unopened loaf, lay at the beginning of a gravelly path and grass. She proceeded to lift it, but spotted a cabbage a little further along. Eh?

Gradually, Charley followed a trail of what must've been...someone's shopping? Near a small stream, too. An apple, a pint of milk, and sliced ham, among other things.

Footsteps. Someone else was here. Perhaps they'd come to reclaim their shopping?

Charley approached a nearby rock, as something seemed to be protruding from it.

An animal? Someone having a nap, on the off-chance?

Oh.

A green and grey...creature...lay sprawled out. A creature. A dead creature. Covered in black liquid - ink? Blood? An...alien?

'Who are you?'

Charley turned.

A slim woman of about sixty, with shoulder length brown hair, in a waistcoat, jeans, and boots stood before her.

She had one arm raised, from which beeping could be heard.

'Well?'

'Charley Ca - wait, never mind about me, who are you? And what are you doing here?'

Her tone was as panicked as she was, looking at the woman.

The woman lowered her arm, and sighed, glancing between Charley and the corpse.

'I suppose you've seen too much, haven't you?'

'I just found it, I had nothing to do with it,' Charley replied adamantly, but still panicked. 'I thought someone had abandoned their shopping.'

The woman turned and looked, as Charley pointed to the trail of items.

The woman sighed again.

'I would normally tell someone to go home, not to worry about it,' she began. 'But you're not going to be able to forget this, are you?'

Charley stared at the woman.

'I think I better go home.'

She stumbled down the path past the woman, and hurried away.

'Charley!'

But Charley ignored it.

What the hell had just happened?

An...alien corpse? That woman. Who was she? She knew something about the corpse, she must have.

Charley stopped.

Shock? Panic? Horror? All three, it seemed. Charley headed back towards that path. Did she seem irrational?

The woman was standing there.

Charley approached her.

'Sorry. Bit stupid of me, wasn't it?'

The woman looked at her, with what seemed like reassurance.

'You had every right to run, Charley. You're in a bit of shock.'

'That was alien, yes?'

'Yes.'

Charley glanced between the path and the woman.

'I don't think I caught your name.'

'Sarah Jane - Sarah Jane Smith.'

'Charley Cassidy,' she said. 'What were you doing up there, then?'


	2. Chapter 2

'Should I tell Terry about it?'

Charley and Sarah Jane sat in Sarah Jane's car just a little further down the road.

'No, don't tell anyone. I don't think they'll believe you, for a start.'

Charley sat back. Terry wouldn't have, for he was even more of a sceptic than her.

'And this _isn't_ what you do for a living?'

Sarah Jane shook her head. She certainly seemed invested in it, Charley thought.

'I wish I could say I have a million and one questions for you,' Charley began. 'I think I believed you for about a minute, but now I'm completely conflicted.'

Sarah Jane looked at her.

'My neighbour Lance would've been beside himself if it'd been him, the big sci-fi geek.'

Sarah Jane nodded then sighed.

'I'm not going to treat you like some kid about this. You saw that alien corpse, and I think you have a right to know exactly what's going on.'

A month passed, and Charley hadn't seen this woman since. She'd thought about talking to Lance about the encounter, give him something to fawn over.

Had Sarah Jane always believed in the extraterrestrial? She wasn't a weirdo, or strange, or such. If anything, fascinating. Perhaps it was better that Lance hadn't been in Charley's place, for he'd be badgering the poor woman about it till the cows came home.

Ah, a lovely cup of...gin. Or wine. Something to erase that image of the alien corpse. So that if Lance asked her, she could blissfully be clueless. Or perhaps not a good idea before heading into town, on her only day off this week. Couple of things to collect, nothing horribly stressful. Maybe she'd bump into Lance, they could go for coffee. Or something less conventional.

Only one nightmare about the corpse had awoken Charley from an otherwise solid sleep routine.

She threw on her best shirt, jeans, and brown sneakers, grabbed her bag, then headed out the front door.

Bustling as ever the town was, it seemed. Charley strolled past many fellow shoppers, producing a list. First thing's first, her prescription of Prazosin, ready to be collected any time this morning. Perhaps Lance would fancy a cheese toasty. He'd be her new pet mouse by tomorrow at this rate.

She chuckled to herself, and headed into Boots.

Charley joined a small queue. A mix of elderly and younger folk like herself. The sooner she was out of here, the better. She ought to have it delivered to her door in future. Now Charley was third in line, and as she moved forward, a familiar woman passed her. Sarah Jane. Should Charley have said hello, or just left her alone? Too late now, she thought, as Sarah Jane exited the pharmacy.

As the person in front moved on, Charley was called forward. Perhaps she should've said hello.

Time for some retail therapy. Why was it called that, anyway? Hoards of people obstructing you and never-ending queues? Not in a million years was that therapeutic.

Nothing wrong with a new shirt every now and then, Charley thought, browsing through a row of red and blue plaid shirts.

She looked for a staff member, and spotted a woman in a grey jacket, jeans, and...boots. Was this some sort of sign?

'Sarah Jane?'

The woman turned.

'Oh hello, Charley,' Sarah Jane said, looking just as surprised as Charley.

'I didn't-'

BOOM!

They flinched as the pharmacy windows shattered, and watched people outside begin to run, through a mass of smoke, debris, and shrapnel.

'Bloody hell.'

Charley looked. Then bolted out of the pharmacy.

'Charley!'

She had to get home.


	3. Chapter 3

_'...six people dead, and thirteen injured. The police are appealing for witness...'_

'So, you're all right with bombings, but aliens don't phase you?'

Charley sat opposite Sarah Jane, both a cup of tea in Charley's kitchen.

'Oh no, there's enough evil in the world, and bombings are amongst the worst of it.'

The glass, the screams, the...bodies. Charley shuddered. Sarah Jane took a sip.

'Have you experienced much of this sort of thing, Charley?'

Where did she start? Oh God, where did she start? Charley sighed.

'Too much.'

She looked at Sarah Jane.

'You seemed all right, though.'

Sarah Jane paused, glancing between the tea and Charley.

'You know the recent spate of attacks, similar to this one, that have been on the news?'

'You...don't think humans are behind it?'

Sarah Jane shook her head.

'That alien corpse you found, it was part of the race I think are behind the attacks.'

'And what are you going to do?'

Sarah Jane took another sip, and looked at Charley.

'Big ask...but could you help me?'

'With what?'

Sarah Jane paused.

'Investigate. You could be my assistant.'

Charley sighed, putting her head in her hands.

'Ask Lance, he's into all this kind of bollocks.'

Sarah Jane looked away for a moment.

'You're a bit like me, you know,' she smiled. 'Ending up in places you shouldn't be.'

Charley raised her head. She liked the quiet life. The quiet, mundane life. Investigating something she didn't even believe in until a month ago? Maybe her life did need a little spiced up. Just a bit more than Lance's.

'All right,' she said, looking at Sarah Jane. 'But on one condition.'

'Yeah?'

'We can't let Lance or Terry know.'


	4. Chapter 4

'A factory, always a bloody factory! Have they run out of ideas?'

As Sarah Jane's car glided along the road, she chuckled.

'Probably been watching too many films, Charley.'

Charley sniffed. At least it wasn't a minefield. The acceptance into this investigation had perhaps been a little hasty. In essence, Sarah Jane was still a complete stranger to her. Yet, for some reason, Charley had decided to risk it. Barking mad, she was.

'And it's a disused factory - a warehouse?' she asked.

Sarah Jane smiled.

'I know. Full marks for creativity.'

Their destination was almost in sight.

'It's a Mr Hall we're looking for. Or perhaps not at all.'

A pseudonym? Probably a common thing among the extraterrestrial just as much as the human race. A pseudonym for some unpronounceable bollocks, more like.

'So you think they're doing what? Bombing places and using the corpses?'

'But using them for what?' Sarah Jane said. 'The news report about the fatalities disappearing overnight like nothing had happened, that's what intrigued me.'

Oh, Christ. Charley had a few theories running through her mind.

'This looks like it.'

A right old dingy piece of scrap, then. The car stopped.

Sarah Jane looked at Charley.

'Are you all right about this?'

Charley looked ahead, exhaling.

'Think so.'

They exited the car, and headed towards the warehouse.

Many, many walkways, like a standard factory. Unsurprisingly, it stank. Going without a bath or shower for a week, times one hundred. Once upon a time, Charley may have felt the urge to vomit at such things. When the innocence, the naivety, was still firmly in place.

'Mr Hall's going to look like that alien corpse, yes?'

Sarah Jane nodded.

'Most likely.'

'_Is_ he expecting us?'

Sarah Jane sighed.

'I don't think so.'

But she sounded anything but certain.

They started along the nearest pathway, accompanied by a rather unnerving silence.

Perhaps the smell was a deterrent, Charley thought, to keep people like herself and Sarah Jane away. Sarah Jane carried on, as though it was normal procedure. How much-

'That's not...oh, God,' Charley said, as they both looked at the bloody heart before them. A human heart. The rest was likely nearby. A hand. The feet. The eyes. Oh, Christ. Charley had had her share of that for years. Too many years. Still it horrified her.

They both covered their noses, as they continued down the never-ending path.

'Cannibals?' Charley asked.

Sarah Jane heaved.

'Don't know. Maybe Mr Hall is nearby.'

Charley stopped. What was she doing here? Why wasn't she at home? Why had she ever encountered this woman Sarah Jane Smith? Why did she follow that trail of shopping? She could've been talking to Lance. Or Terry. Not about this, though. Who else could know about this? Hopefully no one.

'Charley? You all right?'

Frankly, no.

'Yeah.'

She caught up with Sarah Jane, as they reached the path's end, and a door.

Sarah Jane produced her sonic lipstick and zapped the door, opening it.

Charley figured that neither of them were ready for the other side.

'Come on.'

Loud thuds and puffs of steam and smoke greeted the two women.

Before them were two paths separated by a large drop.

Oh God.

A row of tanks on the left side. Bodies. Some with one leg. One arm. No arms. No heads.

All seeping in...clean water?

Charley and Sarah Jane simply stared. What could-

BUZZ!

Charley turned, as a creature similar to that of the corpse she'd found, held Sarah Jane by the neck.

'You must be our guests,' its watery voice said. 'Sarah Jane Smith and Charley Cassidy.'

Charley's eyes darted between the creature and the trembling woman.

'Pleased to meet you, I'm Mr Hall.'


	5. Chapter 5

Don't run, don't run, don't run, thought Charley. Don't be a coward this time.

'Do come this way,' Mr Hall said, motioning with his free hand behind him.

Charley nodded, then proceeded along the path. Keeping a tight grip on Sarah Jane, Mr Hall followed.

They passed many more tanks with human remains, the stench threatening to overwhelm.

'Why...Why are they in clean water?'

Mr Hall emitted a watery chuckle.

'Why else? Preservation.'

Charley glanced at them, as the three of them continued on.

'And then what? You...eat them?'

A full-on chortle erupted from Mr Hall.

'No.'

The three of them reached a doorway, for which Charley and Sarah Jane dressed to see the interior of.

'Ladies first.'

Charley's eyes darted several times, as she exhaled. She entered.

The room was brightly lit, and covered wall to wall with pipes. Then everything went dark.

What was-

BANG!

Someone thudded. Sarah Jane let out a huge sigh. The lights flashed back on. Charley and Sarah Jane looked at the creature lying before them, then around their surroundings.

'Oh no,' Sarah hand said. 'I don't think-'

Pitch black again.

'Don't bloody move.'

Charley and Sarah Jane froze, each feeling a gun being pressed against the back of their heads.

'On your knees, both of you.'

They complied.

Oh God. Charley's eyes darted. Fear was an understatement.

'You know about all of this?' One male voice said.

Charley nodded, then whimpered, as the gun jabbed into her head.

'I'm asking _her_.'

'Y-Yes,' Sarah Jane replied, voice breaking.

The man coughed.

'Do you like my little collection, Cassidy?'

The other voice. It couldn't have been.

'Lance?'

The room lit up again.

'Perhaps you should have went out on the front line, if you liked this sort of thing so much,' he taunted.

Charley was staring at nothing in particular.

She and Sarah Jane looked, as the alien corpse...removed its...mask, and a man's face appeared. He grinned.

'Don't really believe in the whole aliens bollocks, myself,' Lance said.

His enthusiasm in the past did always seem a bit suspect, to be honest.

'Why are you doing this?' Sarah Jane asked. 'Or any of that? Dozens of innocent people-'

'Is it mandatory to have a reason?'

'U-Usually.'

Lance paused.

'In order,' he replied. 'You're intruders. They...well, it was all just for kicks, really.'

Sarah Jane shuddered at the nonchalance in his voice.

'And so is that.'

Sarah Jane and Charley looked at the pipes, and the numerous beeping devices attached to them.

Oh, shit.

Sarah Jane and Charley climbed to their feet and looked at Lance and the other man, dressed in full soldier uniform, their guns lowered.

Lance smiled.

'Perhaps I should've worked down the morgue, instead.'

He turned to the other man and raised his gun.

BANG!

Sarah Jane and Charley flinched as the other man dropped.

Lance moved the gun to his head.

Charley stepped forward.

'No-'

BANG!

Lance hit the floor.

Sarah Jane and Charley looked between the men and the pipes. 'Come on,' Sarah Jane said, and they sprinted down the pathway, the exit in sight. The car. Almost there.

'Wait a second, what if there's another-'

BANG!

'Charley!'

Charley jarred, then fell.

Sarah Jane watched as a masked figure lowered its gun, then ran.

Sarah Jane knelt before Charley, blood blossoming through her shirt, and her breathing staggered.

'Charley,' she said, voice breaking. Sarah Jane scrambled for her phone, dialling frantically.

'_Emergency, which service, please?_'

'A-Ambulance. Please...my friend...she's...she's been shot.'

'I_s the patient breathing?_'

I don't know...I think...yeah, she is.'

Sarah Jane could feel the tears escaping.

'_What's the address, please?_'

'I don't...I don't know, it's a warehouse - a disused factory...near Ealing - oh no, Charley? Oh no, I don't think...'

The staggering had slowed, her eyes seemed vacant.

'Charley? Charley!'

The woman was still. Her skin discoloured. Sarah Jane looked.

Oh no.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
